The following events occurred in November 1926:
November 1, 1926 (Monday) American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T) departed the radio industry as it completed the sale of its short-lived subsidiary, Broadcasting Company of America (BCA), including its network of 19 stations and its flagship station in New York City, WEAF, to radio manufacturer RCA, the Radio Corporation of America, for one million dollars. The John Colton play The Shanghai Gesture opened on Broadway. Born: Benjamin Hoskins Paddock, American bank robber and con man; in Sheboygan, Wisconsin (d.1998)
November 2, 1926 (Tuesday) Midterm elections were held for all 435 seats of the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as for 32 of the 96 seats in the United States Senate. The Republican Party retained a narrow majority of in the Senate as its share dropped from 56—39 over the Democrats, to a 49—46 lead. In the House, the Republicans' 246—183 majority dropped to 238—194. French pediatrician Gaston Variot warned young women not to dance the Charleston, because its "sudden wrenching movements" were "likely to produce internal conditions inimical to the proper conditions of childbirth." Died: John Le Hay (stage name for John Mackway Healy), 72, English baritone opera singer and comedian, died the day after having been struck by a car in London. Le Hay had been appearing at the Lyceum Theatre, where he had been appearing in the play The Padre.
November 3, 1926 (Wednesday) The collapse of an iron mine killed 51 people in Ishpeming, Michigan in what remains the deadliest industrial disaster in Michigan's history. The underground section of the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company mine had been excavated beneath a swamp, whose waters, along with mud and sand, then drained into the mine shaft rushed into the tunnels and drowned those who survived the initial blast and the debris from the cave-in. Khelil Bouhageb took office as the new Prime Minister of Tunisia by the Bey of Tunis, Muhammad VI al-Habib, dismissed his predecessor, two weeks after the October 20 death of the previous premier, Mustapha Dinguizli. The play Yellow Sands opened on London's West End at the Haymarket Theatre for the first of 610 performances. The Play's the Thing, a comedy adapted by P. G. Wodehouse from Ferenc Molnár's 1924 Hungarian play Játék a Kastélyban, had its first of 313 performances on Broadway, premiering at Henry Miller's Theatre. An attempt by three prisoners to escape from New York City's Tombs Prison ended with the deaths of five people (including the three escapees who all shot themselves before they could be captured). Hyman Amberg, Michael "Red" McKenna and Robert Berg had come into possession of pistols that had been smuggled in from outside along with "a few hundred rounds of ammunition", and had been escorted as a group to the prison infirmary when they feigned an illness. The group killed Warden Peter J. Mallon and a guard, Jeremiah Murphy, then escaped the building, but found themselves unable to escape the prison yard. In the gunfight that followed between the prisoners traded shots with police sharpshooters who had fired from windows of the Conklin Building that overlooked The Tombs. Born: Valdas Adamkus, President of Lithuania 1998 to 2003, and 2005 to 2009; as Voldemaras Adamkavičius in Kaunas (alive in 2026) Della Roy, American ceramics and materials researcher, known for her discoveries in radioactive waste disposal and suses of coral, namesake for the rare natural mineral dellaite (Ca6(Si2O7)(SiO4)(OH)2); in Merrill, Oregon (d.2021) Died: Annie Oakley, 66, American sharpshooter and trick shot artist
November 4, 1926 (Thursday)
Prince Leopold of Belgium, son of King Albert I and heir apparent to the throne, married Princess Astrid of Sweden, the niece of Sweden's King Gustaf V, in Stockholm. Stockholm Mayor Carl Lindhagen presided over the civil ceremony. The Netherlands-based discount department store chain HEMA (Hollandsche Eenheidsprijzen Maatschappij Amsterdam) opened its first location, with a store in Amsterdam. In its 100th year, HEMA would have more than 750 stores in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and three other European nations. George W. English resigned as a United States federal judge before his impeachment trial proceedings could begin. English wrote in his resignation letter to President Coolidge that, while he believed he had properly carried out his duties as a U.S. District Judge, "I have come to the conclusion on account of the impeachment proceedings instituted against me, regardless of the final result thereof, that my usefulness as a Judge has been seriously impaired. I, therefore, feel that it is my patriotic duty to resign and let some one who is in nowise hampered be appointed to discharge the duties of the office." The comet 32P/Comas Solà, which orbits the Sun every 9.7 years, was discovered by Spanish astronomer Josep Comas Solà from the Fabra Observatory in Barcelona. Born: Carlos "Patato" Valdes, Cuban conga drum player and entertainer; in Havana (d. 2007) Died: Caroline Hewins, 80, American librarian known for her promotion of children's library services across the United States during the 19th century Albin Egger-Lienz, 58, Austrian painter
November 5, 1926 (Friday) Lithuania's parliament, the Seimas, voted to ratify the Soviet–Lithuanian Non-Aggression Pact that had been signed on September 28. Talks reopened in Britain between the government and the Miners' Federation to end the coal miners' lockout as it dragged into its seventh month. Born: John Berger, English art critic known for writing Ways of Seeing; in London (d. 2017) Purificação Araújo, Portuguese obstetrician and gynecologist known as "The Mother of Family Planning" in Portugal; in Lisbon (alive in 2026) Tran Kim Phuong, the last ambassador from South Vietnam to the United States, serving 1972 to 1975; in Hanoi, French Indochina (d.2004)
November 6, 1926 (Saturday)
A new, far-reaching police law was enacted in Italy by decree of the Cabinet Council, giving the government extensive powers of confinement and extending its power to dissolve political and cultural organizations. A new deportation law allowed for persons to be restricted to certain localities within Italy for light offenses or exiled to penal colonies for more serious ones. Benito Mussolini also reclaimed the Italian Minister of the Interior position for himself, and Italo Balbo was appointed undersecretary for the Air Ministry. Born: Frank Carson, Northern Irish comedian; in Belfast (d. 2012). Jack Gardner, 52, British heavyweight boxer who held the title of European champion (March–November 1951) and British champion (1950-1952); in Market Harborough, Leicestershire (died from a brain tumor, 1978) Died: Carl Swartz, 68, Prime Minister of Sweden from March to October 1917 and Finance Minister 1906-1911
November 7, 1926 (Sunday) Voting was held in Greece for all 286 seats of the Hellenic Parliament. The Liberal Union won 108 seats for a plurality, but 36 short of the required 144 needed for a majority. In Poland, Marshal Józef Piłsudski decreed a press gag law, forbidding the publication of news that could cause a public demonstration, news or rumors that ridiculed or criticized government officials and judges, and matter considered by government officials to be derogatory. Government officials were empowered to impose fines or jail sentences without a court hearing.
In ceremonies for the ninth anniversary of the October Revolution that established the Soviet Union, what is now one of the few remaining statues of Vladimir Lenin was erected at the Finland Station in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), to commemorate his triumphant return to Russia on April 16, 1917, to end his exile in Switzerland. Born: Joan Sutherland, Australian opera soprano and 1961 Grammy Award winner; in Sydney (d. 2010) Died: Tom Forman, 33, American actor and director, committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest.
November 8, 1926 (Monday) Elections were held in British India for the Madras Legislative Council, a 127-member advisory body representing the 20 million residents of the Madras Presidency, of whom 98 were selected by voters. While the Legislative Council could pass laws for the predominantly Tamil language speaking residents of the Madras province (now the Tamil Nadu state), and the leader of the largest party could form a provincial cabinet as the First Minister, the legislation could be vetoed by the British Governor and by the Governor-General. The Swaraj Party, led by S. Srinivasa Iyengar won more seats (41) than the Justice Party led by First Minister Panaganti Ramarayaningar (21). The George Gershwin musical Oh, Kay!, which introduced the popular song "Someone to Watch Over Me", opened on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre for the first of 256 performances. Born: Darleane C. Hoffman, American nuclear chemist; in Terril, Iowa (d.2025) Ira Millstein, American antitrust defense lawyer known for more than 70 years of practice for the mega-firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges Lyudmila Arinina, Soviet Russian film and TV actress known for An Almost Funny Story (1977); in Sinodskoye, Saratov Governorate, Russian SFSR (d.2026) Died: James K. Hackett, 57, American stage and silent film actor, known for the title role in 1913 feature film The Prisoner of Zenda
November 9, 1926 (Tuesday) All 123 opposition party members in the 535-seat Italian parliament lost their seats, and warrants were issued for their arrest. The expulsion came in retaliation for the participation of the deputies in the "Aventine Secession", a boycott of participation in the Fascist-dominated Parliament that had taken place on June 27, 1924. The group was from seven different political parties, which were in the minority after the passage of a law that guaranteed two-thirds representation for whichever party had won a plurality of seats provided they had at least 25 percent of the vote. The new law deprived them of parliamentary immunity. Antonio Gramsci of the dissolved Communist Party of Italy was arrested in Rome and imprisoned in the Regina Coeli. An F4 tornado struck the small town of La Plata, Maryland, destroying the town's elementary school and killing 14 students and teachers, as well as three other people in town. Paul Hindemith's opera Cardillac was given its first performance, making its debut at the Staatsoper in Dresden. Born: Vicente Aranda, Spanish film director and producer known for Juana la Loca (2001) and El Lute; in Barcelona (d. 2015) Johnny Beattie, Scottish actor and stand-up comedian; in Govan, Glasgow (d.2020)
November 10, 1926 (Wednesday) Princeton University severed athletic relations with Harvard, with Princeton's Board of Athletic Control voting unanimously to no longer participate in any further sports competitions between the two Ivy League universities. A formal letter from Princeton explained, "We have been forced to the conviction that it is at present impossible to expect in athletic competition with Harvard that spirit of cordial good will between the undergraduate bodies of the two universities which should characterize college sports." Born: Zdzisław Pawlak, Polish mathematician and computer science theoretician, known for the Pawlak flow graphs; in Łódź (d.2006) Died: Joseph Schwarz, Russian-born German operatic baritone for the Berlin Civic Opera, died while undergoing surgery for a kidney ailment; in Riga
November 11, 1926 (Thursday)
The United States Numbered Highway System, including U.S. Route 66, was established. The Nicaraguan Congress elected Adolfo Díaz as president.with 44 votes for Diaz and two votes for former president Carlos Solozano. Diaz was inaugurated on November 14 to succeed General Emilio Chamorro, who had resigned on October 30 and turned the presidency over to Sebastian Urira."